The Synthetic Contract
"The sector will never know of your bravery, for it believes that a living sin can never be brave; the Deathless know that you were not sins, the only ones who sinned were we. We shall never forget your sacrifice comrades." -The Unmarked Memorial on Thorg. The Synthetic Contract is the Contract respected and honoured by The Deathless following their synth purge, this article relates the events that lead up to this contract. Before the War Against the Artificials After the unveiling of the first synthetic soldiers, an Imperial Law was implemented that would forbid non-imperial entities to buy synthetic soldiers and thus form synthetic legions until they were outlawed in 3184. Although the law never specifically mentioned the Deathless, it was clear to everyone involved who the target of this new ban was. Lasting for nearly two-hundred years, this embargo resulted in very low numbers of synths on Koschei and in the Ragnhil system. The vast majority of those that made it to Koschei were combat synths, smuggled in to augment DCS forces and “Hired” under the pretense of “New recruits”. Naturally, this drastically weakened the Deathless’ capacity to conduct business in the sector. With synthetic soldiers gradually becoming the military standard as well as the favored choice for personal security, it became more and more difficult for the Deathless to compete for well-paying contracts. Another, unforseen effect of these low synth numbers is the treatment the Deathless synthetics were subjected to in the Deathless compared to other groups like ACRE or even the Aquilan legions. Because of the ban from forming synthetic legions and the very small number of synthetics troops in DCS, it was decided to integrate the synths within human units. This resulted in synthetic soldiers being given the same treatment as common Deathless soldiers as well as the ability to form bonds and relationships with their human counterparts. After a few years, synthetics and humans were equals in the Deathless, and seeing synthetics in important leadership positions was not uncommon. The War Against the Artificials In 3185, the rest of the Imperial Houses joined the war against the Cygnus Emperox and the synth legions. In response to this the Board of VPs and the War Council met to decide on a course of action. The plan for the quick and easy removal of their synth soldiers was brought forward at this point and a schedule for the mass termination of the on-planet synthetics was determined. These plans leaked to the synth soldiers, in a surprise raid lead by Lieutenant-General Othmar “Revenant” Vega they were able to capture DCS leadership halting the genocide before it could begin. However, aware of their small numbers due to the trade restrictions limiting the Deathless’ ability to acquire synths, the victorious synth soldiers knew there was no way they could win a larger war against the Empire. With this realisation the synth soldiers approached the hostage Board with a deal. The synthetic soldiers offered to sacrifice themselves so that DCS could stay in business and alive after the War was over. This was agreed under the condition that only the combat designed synthetics would be killed in the purge, the others being spared. By 3185 the synthetics in The Deathless totaled at about 10,000 and the combat synthetics made up around 90% of the synths in DCS, so only around 1000 synthetics would survive the Purge. The majority of those to be protected were civilians with minimal, if any, military training. In exchange, the Board agreed to turn down any contract offer to hunt down synthetics anywhere in the sector, regardless of who it comes from. This is why The Deathless refused the contract from House Crux, because that would mean breaching the terms of the Synthetic Contract. In an attempt to save the company, the leadership agreed to these terms. The contract that was signed, only ever referred to by its number, T-1566, remains in the Deathless archives to this day. Together, the synthetic soldiers and remaining DCS personnel staged the mass execution, making a public display of the massacre on Thorg. The process of execution was simple, gather all the synthetics over a deserted area on Thorg, then bomb the area from orbit, effectively glassing the zone. The event would be unofficially named The Second Burning, due to the tragically ironic similarity to the Burning of Thorg. As a result, the general image that is shown to the sector of the Deathless is one that is appropriately Imperial, and an anti-synth stance is maintained in public. After the War Against the Artificials Within the Deathless these actions are considered to be horrific, it is known that the deal at least gave some synthetic citizens a chance at a normal life. Even so, this decision caused division in the ranks among the Deathless, including many of those who planned the original operation. A large number of people left the company of their own volition, including the majority of the old Board of VPs and War Council. The Deathless do not advertise their increased tolerance of synths compared to other factions, of course, but should a synth apply to DCS, they will not be turned down or in based on the circumstances of their birth. On the other hand, should House Crux show up on our doorstep and come looking for synths, we will not turn them away. In the wake of the war, the heavy trade tariffs and the incredible sacrifice of the synthetic soldiers turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the company, as they managed to emerge with most of their human assets still intact. This put them in a very strong position business-wise, as DCS was now a viable option for operations that required more than simply bypassing Imperial Law Honouring the Sacrifice Following the death of their synthetic comrades in arms, The Deathless have various ways of remembering those who died while still keeping the matter under wraps. The Unmarked Memorial Located in the aptly named Glass Tomb region on Thorg where the synthetics were gathered and killed, the memorial is made up of a simple engraved marble slate and a green oak tree, the only living thing to be found in kilometers. The area surrounding the memorial is a 10 km wide zone covered in oddly shaped glass the Thorgian tribes surrounding avoid the zone, either by fear or respect it isn't known. A few members of The Deathless are known to gather around the area to commemorate their comrades once a year at the date of the purge. The Eternal Record Following their deaths, the names of all the synthetic soldiers that volunteered to make this sacrifice were entered into the Eternal Records with the Highest honours. The Toast For The Brave A toast in Koscheian made over cups of Dvodka that loosely translates to “To those braver by far” became very common after the Second Burning. Category:The Deathless Category:Synthetics